8 Case Interview Mistakes Great Candidates Avoid
The most common pitfalls you have to know.
Zero defects
Against conventional wisdom, great candidates are not the ones who know perfectly how to read a balance sheet or how to strategically implement a project. Rather, great candidates are the ones that make no mistake. Consulting firms love these candidates as they are seen as extremely reliable and effective. Moreover, the firm trusts them to do the right thing when working with clients.
1. Don’t rush
Do not try to be fast. There is no award for the ones that a crack a case under 20 minutes. Rather, make sure you understand the problem, structure the key issues you want to analyze, take the time you need to ask questions and discuss with the interviewer in order to unlock additional insights and clues.
2. Don’t panic
Whatever happens, never panic. The answer may not be apparent and you may have analyzed the wrong issues. In this case, show that you stay calm, take some time the rethink the problem, ask further questions and come up with an alternative plan.
The interviewer will value a candidate that doesn’t panic as it means that, once hired, the candidate won’t stress out in case things are not going as planned.
3. Don’t defend your position at all cost
The interviewer might challenge your assumptions and suggest other possibilities. Instead of refuting him, accept the fact that he may have brought valuable ideas and a relevant perspective to the table.
Make sure you review his remarks and judge whether you should integrate them into your analysis.
4. Don’t internalize your thoughts
The interview should look like a real work situation where you are trying to tackle a case together with your team. When people collaborate, they ask questions, share their thoughts and discuss their assumptions. Make sure you do the same when you are cracking your case.
Of course, do not bombard the interviewer with questions that do not make any business sense or might show that you are totally missing the point. Also, do not literally think out loud but select what you think is worth sharing.
Approach it as a real-life situation. In this setting, you would share your thought process, explain your choices and assumptions and discuss relevant issues. You wouldn’t say everything that’s going through your mind just for the sake of speaking up.
5. Don’t stick to ready-to-use frameworks
We all know the 4P’s framework, the 4C’s and the ones made by Porter. During the case, you are of course authorized and encouraged to take clues from frameworks.
However, you shouldn’t use them as they are in any of your cases. Instead, make sure you tailor your tree to the case and to the problem you have to solve for the client.
6. Never, ever say you made a mistake
In consulting, we don’t tell clients we made a mistake. Rather, we explain that we need to review our analysis.
If at one point you realize you made an error, just tell the interviewer that you’d like to take a minute to review your analysis.
7. Never be negative
Never tell the interviewer that you are bad at something or that you don’t know how to do something. Never sound desperate either. Interviewers are looking for candidates with strong problem solving skills, that display a can-do attitude and that see solutions instead of problems.
Of course, you should ask for additional information or explanations when you fail to understand something. Just make sure you look confident and resolved to lead the case to a good end.
8. Don’t make the same mistake twice
Most of the time, you’ll get two cases with two different interviewer during one session. In case you did a math error in your first case, be extra cautious with your math during the second interview. In case you fail your math in both cases, it will show that you are not at ease with math and it will be over for you.
The same goes for the feedback you get. If, during the feedback call (they generally call you after the case to give you feedback) they tell you that you should improve your structure, make sure you do improve your structure.
Failure to assimilate the feedback you get shows that you aren’t coachable. You won’t get to the next round.
Credits
This article was built on great insights and articles from Kellogg Consulting Club and Wharton Consulting Club. Make sure you check these out!
